Read on Twitter
Here’s the article I wrote. It focuses on who should tell Indigenous stories. This was cathartic as I learnt a lot from stories being retold to me. These men deserve to tell their story.
The real Tongan boys of & #39;Ata were not the real Lord of the Flies https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/17-05-2020/the-real-tongan-boys-of-ata-were-not-the-real-lord-of-the-flies/#.XsC3RdscoFx.twitter">https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/17-0...
The real Tongan boys of & #39;Ata were not the real Lord of the Flies https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/17-05-2020/the-real-tongan-boys-of-ata-were-not-the-real-lord-of-the-flies/#.XsC3RdscoFx.twitter">https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/17-0...
I wrote this thinking about exploitation. I wrote this with my heart. I wrote this because I want to help plant seeds on how Indigenous stories, specifically Tongans, should be allowed space to tell their stories. I talk about whiteness. I talk about being Tongan.
I finish with hope. I know these men are writing or thinking about writing books and damn, I cannot wait to read their words.
I also want to say, as a literary critic, I will be reading Humankind, but I hold no hope in it being better than the “excerpt”. If you tell a short version of the story through the colonial lens, I expect the longer one to be the same.
This article was based off this thread: https://twitter.com/endlessyarning/status/1259441213058342913?s=21">https://twitter.com/endlessya...
Learnt a little something from my nearly 2000 word article? Just want to buy me coffee? You can here x https://ko-fi.com/vikamana ">https://ko-fi.com/vikamana&...
I do want to note, I was given a word limit but I was able to exceed it a little.
One aspect that should also be prioritised is how religion and God guides many Tongans. This is what this essay doesn’t include.
One aspect that should also be prioritised is how religion and God guides many Tongans. This is what this essay doesn’t include.
Church and religion in general is what guides many of us. Embed that in our values and you have a people who are giving and faithful. We& #39;re resilient because of who we are.
Additionally, I want to encourage those seeking to speak to these men, to pay them for their time.
Additionally, I want to encourage those seeking to speak to these men, to pay them for their time.
I truly believe that you should pay people to storytell. Interviews are just another form of that. It& #39;s just a good form of practice, to pay storytellers for their stories and time.
and in this case, breaks the cycle of exploitation. We& #39;re a humble people, so most of the time, we all fall into doing this for free. But, I& #39;m really tired of seeing our people, specifically people new in the arts and our elderly, not being paid right or at all.
I also want to note, I’m not reading this book when it is released because I want to. It talks about my people in more detail. I feel like I have to unpack it all, for my community. Tongans deserve to know what is being shared about us.
Nothing about us, without us
Nothing about us, without us
Because these threads are always done seperately, here’s my second author response.
Please come correct when talking to me. I am not a child nor do I deserve to be disrespected after clearly stating my own boundaries for stories
https://twitter.com/endlessyarning/status/1262028852517154816?s=21">https://twitter.com/endlessya... https://twitter.com/endlessyarning/status/1262028852517154816">https://twitter.com/endlessya...
Please come correct when talking to me. I am not a child nor do I deserve to be disrespected after clearly stating my own boundaries for stories
https://twitter.com/endlessyarning/status/1262028852517154816?s=21">https://twitter.com/endlessya... https://twitter.com/endlessyarning/status/1262028852517154816">https://twitter.com/endlessya...
Maybe instead of speaking to me condescendingly, take the fact that your book doesn’t do justice to the fact these men are Tongan and not like any of boys in LotF. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll see comparing 
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🍎" title="Red apple" aria-label="Emoji: Red apple"> and https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🍊" title="Tangerine" aria-label="Emoji: Tangerine"> isn’t a good way to talk about optimistic humanism
